3,656 Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Purchased by Quantitative Investment Management LLC

Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,656 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $584,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $706,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $740,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317,526 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $638,589,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Yum! Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale streamlines the portfolio: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with an additional potential $75 million earn-out through 2030. The divestiture gives management more resources to focus on Taco Bell, KFC and other higher-growth businesses. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell expands in the UAE: Yum! Brands’ franchise partner Americana Restaurants signed an agreement to launch Taco Bell in the United Arab Emirates. The move expands the brand’s international footprint and could provide a long-term source of unit and royalty growth. Americana Restaurants signs deal to launch Taco Bell in UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was planned: CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares worth approximately $41,176, reducing his holdings by 35.7%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is less likely to represent a discretionary negative view of YUM’s valuation or outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Pizza Hut’s turnaround: The divestiture removes a slower-growing or challenged brand from Yum!’s consolidated portfolio, but it also reduces revenue diversification. Pizza Hut will now pursue its turnaround under private-equity ownership, while reports that Eduardo Luz is serving as interim CEO add uncertainty around the transition. The broader transaction, including the separate Mainland China deal, totals approximately $2.7 billion. Yum has sold Pizza Hut for $1.5B

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,766,528.65. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $152.08 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.54 and its 200 day moving average is $155.70. The stock has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.